Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, paper picked up from a paper feed cassette is conveyed to an image forming section to form an image on the paper. A pickup roller for picking up the paper from the paper feed cassette is arranged in the paper feed cassette. Further, a paper feed roller is arranged nearby the pickup roller.
Incidentally, the paper picking up operation and the paper conveyance operation of the pickup roller and the paper feed roller slow down at the end of their service lives. Thus, the number of the paper picked up from the paper feed cassette is counted, and when the count value reaches a preset number, a message asking for the exchange of the pickup roller and the paper feed roller is displayed on a display section.
Further, conventionally, there is an example in which a sensor is arranged at a distance from the paper feed cassette, and the time from the moment the paper feeding operation is started to the moment the paper is detected by the sensor is measured. In this example, it is determined that the service life is to end if the detected time delays many times with respect to a preset time.
However, the conventional apparatus only asks for the exchange when it is determined that the service life is to end according to the number of the used paper and the like, and no useful information is provided.